Lap machine



Sept. 13, 1927.

L. SCHORSCH LAP MACHINE- Filed March 22. 1926 Fig.2.

ness that if it be divided longitudinally, the I times known as a cardin Patented Sept. 13, 1927.

um'rso STATES PATENT OFFICE.

LUPWIG-SGHQRSCH, OI GOEBKAN, CZECHOSLQVAKI'A. v

LAP MACHINE.

Application filed March 22, 1926, Serial No. 96,566, and in Germany March 23, 1925.

This invention pertains to cotton manufacture and particularly to apparatus for producing laps of uniform character. Commonly the cotton fiber is beaten out. and formed into laps by means of pickers or'lappers and the laps thus produced are then delivered to the cards, The picker laps are often uneven, exhibiting thick and thin places side by side, although the average thickness of .the lap transversely of its Width may correspond to the desired lap count. If such an uneven lap be fed to a card in which the entire web delivered from the dofiing comb is formed into a single sliver, the irregularities in the thickness of the lap widthwise of the latter compensate each other and no particular difiiculty is experienced in obtaining a substantially uniform sliver. However, if, as is sometimes done, the picker lap is fed to a spinning card which divides the web delivered by the (101T- ing comb into a plurality of strips, each of which is condensed to form a separate sliver, then the 'irre ularities in thickness of the lap become mamfest in the individual slivers, the latter being so uneven that, except for the very coarsest yarn counts, it would be impractical to spin them, without interven-.

ing evening processes, into yarns of acceptable character.

In accordance with the so-called carded yarn system of yarn manufacture, it is common to use two or three cards in succession and to arrange the lap which is delivered by one card in transverse layers or, in other words,-to double it before feeding it to the next card of the series, in order to bring about an equalization of the difl'erences in thickness.

The principal tion is to provide apparatus w ich will produce a lap of such uniform transverse thickseveral strips thus obtained will be of subtantially uniform character so that, they inay be spun into yarn, thus simplifying the process while, at the same time, providing yarn of acceptable character.

In accordance with the present invention the picker employed may be of any usual type, for example, a simple picker. comprising the usual beater wings and condensers, or preferably it may be of that type somecard provided with any 0 the usual precarda rotary beater 2, the grid, 3 and the conobject of the. resent inven-.

heater or express ing devices, for example, cylinders covered w th card clothing or similar material. The picker, of whatever type employed, may be fed 1n any usualmanner, for example, by means of. an automatic weighing feeder or with lap rolls from a preceding picker.

In the accompanying drawings a preferred embodiment of the invention has been right-hand designates generally a picker or lapper of a type Well known in the manufacture of cotton yarn, such picker or lapper comprising denser cylinders or screens 4. This apparatus also comprises a feeding apron 5 adapted to feed the fiber to the heater 2. The picker herein illustrated is supplied from a plurality of rolled bats .6 and 7 arrangedto feed in superposed relation to the beater.

The hat 8, delivered from the condenser cylinders 4, is carried upwardly by a suitable elevator here shown as consisting-of a pair of parallel endless beltsoraprons 9 and 10 respectively. desired, may be provided with spikes to insure proper movement of the bat enga ed between them, but it is to be understood t at this elevator is'not, an essential part of the after described as to make an 'elevatorunnecessary; a

.The bat is delivered from the upper end 100 of the elevator tothe upper end of any suitable type of distributor herein shown, for

example, as comprising a pair ofparallel endless belts or aprons 11 and 12. Like the belts 9 and 10, the belts or aprons of the dis- 105 vided at its lower end with a pair of. mangle 00 These belts or aprons, if

mechanism providedthe picker be at such an elevation relative to the distribjiitofi hereinting the throw of the distributor to be ad-- rolls 13 and 14 adapted as hereinafter described to compress thefolded lap as it is delivered from the distributor.

The lap delivered from the lower end of the distributor is deposited upon the upper surface of a moving support 15, preferably an endless belt or apron travelling in a direction at right anglestothe path of the bat as delivered by the picker. This belt or apron is supported by rollers 16 and 17 one or bgth of which may be driven to impart a continuous forward movement to the apron.

The distributor comprising the belts 11 and 12 is preferably supported to swing about an axis adjacent to its upper end, and

this distributor is oscillated by means of any suitable mechanism preferably permitjusted. In the arrangement disclosed the combined movement of the belt 15 and of the distributor, when the latter is oscillated as above described, causes the bat as deposited from the distributor to fall in overlapping folds 8 upon the moving surface of the belt 15. The general appearance of the bat as it is deposited on the belt 15 is shown in Fig. 3. As the bat is deposited upon the support, the mangle rolls 13 and 14. alternately engage it, guiding it and determining the outer limits of the folds. These rolls compress the folded bat, and are preferably adjustable toward and from each other to vary the Width of the folded bat.

The relative movement of the distributor and belt is such as above described as to lay the lap in the form of zig-zag folds upon the surface of the belt 15- and this folded bat travels forward with the belt 15.

The bat from the apron 15 is delivered to a pair of winding rolls 30 and 31 which are adapted to wind it upon itself or upon a suitable core to 'form a lap roll 32. Such a lap roll may be -used for feeding a card not closely associated with the picker or, in fact, any other machine to which it is desired to feed a bat of uniform and even character. Obviously a plurality of lap rolls 32 produced by this mechanism could be combined for feeding to a subsequent machine although the evenness of the bat produced by the mechanism herein described is usually suflicient for ordinary purposes'without such further doubling; As already stated, .I prefer to employ a picker in making the bat, for

1 example, a plcker such as disclosed in German patent to Werner No. 381,994, inwhich the usual beater is replaced by rollers provided with teeth. Sucha precarding picker delivers the cotton fiber in a fully open state and 'the fibers upon the. exterior of the bat, delivered by such ap aratus, are alread partially carded. Sue a bat may be ma e thinner than oneproduced by the ordinary beater without danger of rupture and can means thus be folded or doubled a greater number of times in producing the lap. When the lap thus produced is fed to a spinning card and divided into independent slivers, such slivers may be spun directly into yarn or quite uniform character so that it is unnecessary to use two or three cards in succession, the single spinning card suiiicing to produce slivers adapted for spinning.

Inasmuch as the apparatus above described Will produce sufiicient lap to supply several spinning cards, and since, as above stated, a single spinning card replaces the two or three successive cards usually employed, it is manifest that the present invention greatly simplifies the s inning process and increases economy c? production, while furthermore, as the precarding picker is very elfective in cleaning cotton fiber containing hulls, or in cleaning cotton waste, the product obtained is cleaner than that produced by the usual method.

Having thus described a preferred embodiment of apparatus for performing the desired operation and with the understanding that such apparatus may be modified as circumstances may Warrant without departing from the spirit of the invention.

clann: 1. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of cotton yarn comprising in combination with a picker or lapper, a belt conveyor, a

distributorfor delivering the bat from the picker onto one run of the conveyor, and means for moving thedistributor and conveyor relatively to one another to lay the bat in the form of overlapping folds extending transversely of the direction of movement of I ,of cotton yarn comprising in combination with the condenser of'a picker or lapper, a moving support, an oscillatory distributor for laying the bat delivered by the condenser onto the upper surface of the support to form folds extending transversely of thedirection of movement of the support, said distributor comprising man Is rolls for compressing said folds as t ey are deposited upon the support. Y

4. Apparatus for use in the-manufacture with the condenser of a picker or lapper, a

of cotton yarn comprising in combination a the direction of delivery of the bat from the condenser, and an oscillating distributor rovided with spaced mangle rolls adap to bat from th condenser onto the conveyor in the form overlapping layers extending pressing said layers, and means disposed ad-.

transversely of the conveyor, means for comjacent to the delivery end of the conveyor for Winding the bat into the form of a roll.

6. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of cotton yarn comprising in combination with a picker or lapper having a condenser,

a movable sup ort, a distributor comprising a slatapron or feeding the bat delivere from the condenser to the movable support,

said su port and slat apron being movable relative y to one another to cause the bat to form dia onally overlapping folds upon the surface 0 thesupport, and mangle rolls car- ;iefi by the distributor for compressing said 7. Apparatus of the class described for use in the manufacture of cotton yarn comprising in combination with a picker or lapper having a condenser, lap-winding means, an elongate movable support intermediate the picker and winding means, means for moving the support in the direction of its length,

a double slatiapron for feeding the bat delivered b the condenser to the movable support, an means for relatively moving the support and slat apron in such a way as to lay the bat in overlapping folds extending diagonally of the length of the sup ort whereby to form an evened multi-ply at.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name this 1st day of December, 19256 LUDWIG SCHORSCH. 

